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The Fifths Tuning Club

#101
Ikonoklast said:
Here is a video of my rockabilly band playing a fourth of july gig a few years ago
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Man, awesome stuff! I also checked your other stuff on that YT Channel, just great! ;)

I find it so entertaining that besides tuning in Fifths, you're a lefty too! I can only imagine the average righty trying to get a grip of your upright, spending some time figuring octave fingerings out, only to find that for some strange reason it's the same thing. :D

Now, to answer your question.

On the Blue Bossa recording I'm using my Warwick Dolphin SN TCS strung with Link Removed (now called Kalium) strings, using the following set of gauges:

.130 .086 .057 .035 .021p (That p's for plain, not wound.)

The company produces roundwounds made of a nickel/steel hybrid, and are remarkable for the wide range of gauges they are offering. Just take a look at their Link Removed!

pklima said:
What's the current availability of flatwounds in good gauges for CGDA? I have an oooooooooooold set of Chromes on the bass in my avatar, but they stopped selling them in those sizes some years ago.
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pklima said:
I'd love to get some tapewounds which with decently balanced tension in fifths tuning, but I don't suppose there's much hope of that, is there?
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Hello pklima, and welcome to this thread. :)

Well, I'm a newbie when it comes to flatwounds and tapewounds. Honestly, I haven't used them once yet.
However, I tried my best to find out more about the availability of such strings.

Having a look at Bass Strings Online, I found out you can order custom sets for the brands below:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Invalid Link Removed

Now, I'd love to give you a proper suggestion of gauges, but with no hands-on experience, it's a no-no for me.
You may, however, find Ikonoklast's choice useful:
Ikonoklast said:
I have GHS precision flats on a Squier P bass 40 63 95 120
Again the 120 is too light so a 128 is on the way. (thickest string available)
Also the 95 is a bit stiff but no 90 was available. I figured 85 would be too light.
Click to expand...

That's all for now. Hopefully somebody will come with a more spot-on recommendation.
Ah, by the way, don't forget to ask for a number if you're interested! ;)
 
#102
Oh, cool, I see they're selling Chromes singles in various gauges again. Tapewounds come in various gauges, too, not as much choice but maybe a light G tuned to A, heavy D (as in Heavy D and the Boyz), light E tuned to G, and a low B tuned to C would work. That would be good, I like really really dead strings.

And, sure, can I get a number?
 
#104
I have a set of tapewounds arriving soon for my AGB
Labella deep talking black nylon 50 70 94 135 T
I have no idea how they will balance out.
I don't gig this bass so its just for a bit of fun.
I'll let you all know how they turn out.

I'm really looking forward to my NSD (new string day).
I got DR Hi beams, DR sunbeams, labella tapewounds, D'addario nickels and one GHS flatwound string coming my way. I can't wait.
 
#105
Ikonoklast said:
I have a set of tapewounds arriving soon for my AGB
Labella deep talking black nylon 50 70 94 135 T
I have no idea how they will balance out.
I don't gig this bass so its just for a bit of fun.
I'll let you all know how they turn out.
Click to expand...
Please do. Should be pretty well balanced, hopefully. I wonder if the 94 or 105 would make a better G string.
 
#108
Pop, hip-hop, electro house, dancehall, country etc. mostly from the past decade, and I sometimes practice classical and jazz but rarely play those in public. Not really any rock. Mostly covers, though I play for one originals project.
 
#110
Buchada Azeda said:
Prog, stoner rock, 70's fusion, jazz-funk (slapping octaves is so fun when your bass is tuned in fifths) and classical music.
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See, I've always thought the forward spread of an octave gave me a lot more solid "anchor" on the neck, if that makes sense? I've got a drop tuner on one of my basses, and find octave awkward (Obviously that's different on a fifths tuned bass - this is like a 5th and a 4th). On a regularly strung bass, I find the minor sixth (same shape as octave on a fifths) one of the most awkward intervals to play. That's one of the main things I don't get about 5ths tuning!
 
#111
RoadRanger said:
Hey, I switched to DGCF tuning ("D" standard) on my short scales last fall and was wondering if any of you went from EAGD to DGCF before arriving at CGDA?
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I think D standard is gaining a little more traction here as an alternative to B standard. When I made the switch to fifths D standard wasn't on my radar screen and B standard was just the bottom four strings on the fiver I was increasingly unhappy with so a move straight to fifths seemed like the logical next step. I loved it and never looked back. D standard is a very sensible thing to try however, gives you some lower notes, the most often used ones in my experience and does not shave much off your top end range. I am not surprised at all that you are happy with it. Fifths is a whole 'nother animal so D standard is not really a gateway to fifths, it is a viable tuning in its own right.
 
#113
khutch said:
D standard is a very sensible thing to try however, gives you some lower notes, the most often used ones in my experience and does not shave much off your top end range. I am not surprised at all that you are happy with it. Fifths is a whole 'nother animal so D standard is not really a gateway to fifths, it is a viable tuning in its own right.
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I just ordered in a capo, I have one tune so far that just can't be played well without an open "E" (Riders on the Storm). Do any of yous guys use a capo with fifths tuning?
 
#114
There is no reason you can't use a capo with any tuning. I have never wanted to, I guess the thought of using a capo just never crosses my mind. I guess the advantage is that it gives you some open strings that suit the key you are in and that can be very convenient at times. Cello music plays well in fifths because you have the same set of open strings as a cello, assuming the fifths tuning you use is CGDA. Obviously I could capo at GDAE and try some violin music. I play church music however and it is rather famous for changing keys once, twice, thrice, or even more times during a song. I often do use open strings in the first key but I have to finger the open notes as I chase each key change up the neck (and for whatever reason church music almost always goes up, not down, with each key change). Pretty sure I am not fast enough with a capo to use it in these circumstances! Capos are not terribly popular among bassists and some on TB feel that if you use one you are marking yourself as, oh the horror, a guitarist. In spite of that I say if you find one useful, use one.
 
#116
pklima said:
Please do. Should be pretty well balanced, hopefully. I wonder if the 94 or 105 would make a better G string.
Click to expand...
The 94 does seem a bit light compared to the tension on the other strings but 105 may be too heavy. I only strung em up yesterday so they need a little time to settle in. The 135T is great and the two higher strings balance out pretty well. I've never played tapewounds before but they really are interesting. They feel a little like gut strings on an upright and have a warm dark tone. Not recommended for death metal or funky slapping but for smooth fingerstyle lines they are really cool.
 
#117
RoadRanger said:
I just ordered in a capo, I have one tune so far that just can't be played well without an open "E" (Riders on the Storm). Do any of yous guys use a capo with fifths tuning?
Click to expand...
I use a capo with fifths tuning and I'll tell you why. I bought a crappy tenor banjo a few years ago and I somehow managed to learn a couple of traditional Irish tunes on it, you know jigs and reels that sort of thing. So when I started tuning my bass in fifths it occurred to me that I could probably play some of these tunes on it. An Irish tenor banjo is tuned the same as a violin GDAE, so when I put a capo on the seventh fret of my bass it became a bass banjo. Being that far up the neck makes it easier to play the really fast Irish tunes and it is two octaves lower than a tenor banjo. It sounds pretty cool and unique. Some of our club members have 5 string basses with high Es so they could do this without a capo but it would be more of a finger stretch in the first position.
 
#118
Ikonoklast said:
The 94 does seem a bit light compared to the tension on the other strings but 105 may be too heavy. I only strung em up yesterday so they need a little time to settle in. The 135T is great and the two higher strings balance out pretty well.
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Thanks, that's kind of what I suspected - that a 100 or so would be about right, but they don't make one. Oh well. I do have two basses with roundwounds which I do want to restring with something darker-sounding, but I'll probably stick to Chromes then.
Ikonoklast said:
An Irish tenor banjo is tuned the same as a violin GDAE
Click to expand...
GDAE is also Australian for "hello".
 
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#120
I think I'm about to join this club in a hot minute!

I've been playing cello for about 20 years and I think that's a pretty good reason to tune in 5ths! Sight reading!!! Maybe I'll end up with a 30" SS bass, or maybe I'll build a custom short scale fretless 5 for CGDAE like a Bass-Violoncello-Picolo (can you have a bass-Picolo instrument? :-D)

For now, though, I'm looking for a set of flatwounds that will play nice with a fender P or J (one will stay in 4ths probably...)

Any recommendations for something deep and rich and easy on the fingers?
 

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